The invention relates to a piezoelectric-type lighter containing a flame-generation device which contains a mechanism releasing a jet of gas and a piezoelectric spark-generation mechanism.
A piezoelectric lighter of the type mentioned above is known from document U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,358, in which a safety mechanism has been inserted in order to prevent unintended users, such as children, from causing a flame to ignite and thereby running the risk of injuring themselves or causing injuries to others.
In this document, the safety mechanism consists of a safety organ co-operating with a stop which is integral with the lighter when the safety mechanism is placed in what is called a locked position.
When the normal user of the lighter wishes to use the latter, he must shift the safety mechanism from the locked position to an unlocked position.
To do this, when the lighter is placed in a vertical position, the user must carry out a translation horizontal to the safety organ, thus removing it from the stop, and, at the end of the translation, must press on an actuator in a downward vertical direction in order to trigger the mechanism releasing a jet of gas and the piezoelectric spark-generation mechanism in order to cause a flame to ignite.
However, this solution, although relatively satisfactory as regards the difficulty of operation for an unauthorized user, can prove tiresome for those who use the lighter daily.
In view of the above, the applicant set out to design a novel lighter which is easier to use for a normal user than is the lighter of the state of the art mentioned above, but nevertheless offers a certain degree of safety as regards the use of this lighter by unauthorized users such as children.
The present invention thus proposes a piezoelectric-type lighter including a flame-generation device which includes a mechanism releasing a jet of gas and a piezoelectric spark-generation mechanism, wherein the said lighter includes two actuators capable of moving along a longitudinal axis XXxe2x80x2 under the action of a force exerted by a user, at least one of the said actuators, called first actuator, being capable of moving independently of the second actuator and of acting at least on one of the said mechanisms, called first mechanism, the said second actuator being capable of acting at least on the second mechanism.
Thus, according to the invention, in order to operate the lighter, the normal user of the lighter will not have to perform a movement fundamentally different from that performed with standard lighters for which he exerts a downward vertical pressure on the actuator of these latter with the help of his thumb.
On the contrary, given that the figures of an unintended user such as a child are smaller than those of a normal user, who is generally an adult, it will be difficult for the child to operate the lighter by pressing simultaneously on the two actuators.
Moreover, given that at least one of the two actuators is capable of moving independently of the other actuator, if the child presses on only one of the two actuators, the chances of his being able to operate the lighter are one in two, which does after all offer a degree of safety.
According to a feature, the first actuator rests on the first mechanism, which is the spark-generation mechanism, and thus acts directly on the latter.
According to another feature, the second actuator acting on the second mechanism, which is the mechanism releasing a jet of gas, includes at least one part which rests on a piece forming a lever and which permits, under the action of a force along longitudinal axis XXxe2x80x2, the release of a jet of gas.
According to yet another feature, the two actuators are independent of each other in their axial movement.
In a first embodiment, the second actuator is also capable of acting on the first mechanism, the two actuators being able or not to be independent of each other in their axial movement.
Thus, it is sufficient for the authorized user of the lighter to press only on the second actuator in order to act at one and the same time on the first and on the second mechanism.
Moreover, according to a feature linked to the preceding one, the second actuator rests on the first mechanism, which is the spark-generation mechanism, and thereby acts directly on this mechanism.
According to a feature, at least one part of the second actuator covers a part of the first actuator, and thus the second actuator is likewise capable of acting on the first mechanism via the first actuator.
According to another feature, the second actuator is closer to a zone of the lighter in which a flame is generated than is the first actuator, which makes access to it more difficult than access to the first actuator for an unauthorized user such as a child.
According to a feature, the second actuator has smaller dimensions than those of the first actuator. Thus when, in addition to this feature, the second actuator is closer to a zone of the lighter in which a flame is generated than is the first actuator, the safety of such a lighter is increased.
In the first embodiment, one of the actuators, designated peripheral, at least partly encloses the other actuator, designated central.
In this embodiment, the peripheral actuator contains an inner peripheral edge and the central actuator contains an outer peripheral edge covering the said inner peripheral edge in such a way that the second actuator is likewise capable of acting on the first mechanism.
According to a variant embodiment, the two actuators are arranged side by side.
According to a feature, the two actuators are kept in transverse contact with each other via a fitting of the tenon-mortise type which allows a movement of one relative to the other along the longitudinal axis XXxe2x80x2. For example, the fitting of the tenon-mortise type is in the form of a dovetail.
According to a second embodiment in which the two actuators are independent of each other in their axial movement, the second actuator is solely capable of acting on the second mechanism, which also ensures functional independence of the two actuators.
In this embodiment, it is thus necessary to press simultaneously on the two actuators to operate the lighter according to the invention, operation which is beyond the scope of a child.
The functional independence of the actuators makes for increased safety compared with solely independence of movement of the actuators.